{"id":905,"date":"2016-01-27T07:32:00","date_gmt":"2016-01-27T13:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedisciplemaker.org\/?p=905"},"modified":"2016-01-27T07:32:00","modified_gmt":"2016-01-27T13:32:00","slug":"pray-away-the-dominant-fear-of-this-age","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2016\/01\/pray-away-the-dominant-fear-of-this-age\/","title":{"rendered":"Pray Away the Dominant Fear of This Age"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Cynicism is, increasingly, the dominant spirit of our age. When I say that cynicism is the spirit of the age, I mean it is an influence, a tone that permeates our culture, one of the master temptations of our age. Personally, it is my greatest struggle in prayer. If I get an answer to prayer, sometimes I\u2019ll think, It would have happened anyway<\/em>. Other times I\u2019ll try to pray but wonder if it makes a difference.
\nFrustration leads to fear.<\/strong>
\nMany Christians stand at the edge of cynicism, struggling with a defeated weariness. Their spirits have begun to deaden, but unlike the cynic, they\u2019ve not lost hope. My friend Bryan summarized it this way: \u201cI think we have built up scar tissue from our frustrations, and we don\u2019t want to expose ourselves anymore. Fear constrains us.\u201d
\nCynicism and defeated weariness have this in common: They both question the active goodness of God on our behalf. Left unchallenged, their low-level doubt opens the door for bigger doubt. They\u2019ve lost their childlike spirit and thus are unable to move toward their heavenly Father.
\nSatan Wants to Destroy Our Communication with the Father.<\/strong>
\nCynicism is so pervasive that, at times, it feels like a presence. Behind the spirit of the age lies an unseen, personal evil presence, a spirit. If Satan can\u2019t stop you from praying, then he will try to rob the fruit of praying by dulling your soul. Satan cannot create, but he can corrupt.
\nTo be cynical is to be distant. While offering a false intimacy of being \u201cin the know,\u201d cynicism actually destroys intimacy. It leads to a creeping bitterness that can deaden and even destroy the spirit.
\nPrayer brings deliverance from the evil one.<\/strong>
\nA praying life is the opposite. It engages evil. It doesn\u2019t take no for an answer. The psalmist was in God\u2019s face, hoping, dreaming, asking. Prayer is feisty. Cynicism, on the other hand, merely critiques. It is passive, cocooning itself from the passions of the great cosmic battle we are engaged in. It is without hope.
\nBy reflecting on cynicism and defeated weariness, we are meditating on the last petition of the Lord\u2019s Prayer: \u201cLead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one\u201d (Matthew 6:13, NIV).
\nCynicism is the air we breathe, and it is suffocating our hearts. Unless we become disciples of Jesus, this present evil age will first deaden and then destroy our prayer lives, not to mention our souls. Our only hope is to follow Jesus as he leads us out of cynicism.
\nDive deeper into understanding cynicism so you can battle against it. Read A Praying Life<\/a><\/em> by Paul E. Miller<\/a>.
\n\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cynicism is, increasingly, the dominant spirit of our age. When I say that cynicism is the spirit of the age, I mean it is an influence, a tone that permeates our culture, one of the master temptations of our age. … <\/p>\n

Read morePray Away the Dominant Fear of This Age<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":1152,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[23,390],"yoast_head":"\nPray Away the Dominant Fear of This Age - The Disciplemaker<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2016\/01\/pray-away-the-dominant-fear-of-this-age\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pray Away the Dominant Fear of This Age - The Disciplemaker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cynicism is, increasingly, the dominant spirit of our age. 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